Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-N.C.): Oh my goodness, it’s been a long time. I’m probably a part of the Jack and Jill group.

Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md.): That’s so hard for me, because I had a book in the kitchen doing dishes, I had a book in the car when I was riding around with my parents, and I had a book in my bedroom. I read everything. But the book I’m reading today, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, I remember reading to my brother when it came out 40 years ago, and I remember reading it to my son, so this is very cool.

Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.): I’m going to date myself. Probably Make Way for Ducklings. It takes place in Boston, and a police officer helps the ducks cross the street. And when I was in Boston for the [Democratic National] Convention almost five years ago, I went to the park where it takes place, and there are actually bronze ducklings in the park, but I couldn’t get out of the taxi to take a picture.

Rep. Betsy Markey (D-Colo.): My favorite book for my kids was Polar Express, and for myself it was The Little Engine That Could.

Rep. Tim Walz (D-Minn.): I was a big Of Mice and Men guy. We got it early freshman year … and it just stuck. And then in my teaching career, I ended up working on the play two times.

Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.): Growing up I wasn’t the best reader, but during the teen years, it was The Cross and the Switchblade.

Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.):Goodnight Moon. It was kind of like The Very Hungry Caterpillar because you had a crescendo. Every time you turn the page, it was like, “Good night, Moon!” like, “The caterpillar is still hungry!” Unfortunately, it was supposed to get the kid to sleep, but in my case, it just got me riled up because I just kept saying, “Good night, Moon!”

Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.):The Little Engine That Could. It was the trusty volume, the go-to book for my mother, and it’s also a story about an underdog. I won by 83 votes to unseat an incumbent [in 2006], so obviously I took the lesson well.

Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii):Peter Rabbit, because I had a rabbit at home named Peter.

Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.):Charlotte’s Web, because the main character was female and she was smart and loyal.